Dedicated to CanadaNaomi

Also please read Minecraft: Arctic Fox first unless you want spoilers

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Brick houses with black stained windows with white edges stood on Dennerheim's fine streets. Fence posts with redstone lamps and inverted daylight sensors on top dotted the streets. Bushes and shrubs coexisted and served as decoration of the city. The sun glowed in its afternoon glory. Canals and old bridges crossed the city. Despite its age, people of all ages did their own thing on the city.

(Imagine Dennerheim like the city of Amsterdam, the Netherlands)

Inside an old but fine-quality brick house, sat a young girl, aged seven. She walked up to another woman who was older.

"Mom, can I play with my friends outside?" the young girl asked.

"Sure, my child! You can play outside."

"Yay!" the girl squealed as she dashed towards the door.

"Be careful, Fenne!" the older woman called back to her daughter.

The young girl stood on the porch, lit by a small, wall lamp often recognizable inside Dennerheim. She inhaled, registering the scent of both the fresh air of the shrubbery at the facade of their house, the scent of the canal, which looked as clear as ever, and some smoke that came from cars. Ew, smoke!

Stepping down the porch, she ran, passing through unrecognizable Minecraftians, not even acknowledging the existence of a figure that lurked behind the bushes.

The figure held a blowpipe and a dart injected with a chemical. He inserted the dart into the blowpipe, and aimed.

The dart sailed across the wind and passed by a few people. Alas! Dear Fenne felt something pierce her arm. A dart was the last thing she saw before she faded into oblivion.

Noticing a fainting child, other Minecraftians circled around Fenne. The figure jumped out of a bush and sprinted towards Fenne.

"I'm gonna get her to a hospital!" the figure exclaimed as he cradled Fenne in his arms. He bolted off, an intention that was very unclear in his mind.

* * * * *

Her eyes felt like the heaviest things ever. It took a while, but Fenne opened her eyes. Oh no. I'm not in a hospital. Mommy!

Then everything registered to her mind, as if a USB plugged in her mind.

Around her, that moist sensation really covered her entire body. Fenne looked down, and saw her feet floating a few blocks off the floor.

Scanning her entire body, she noticed some sort of gadget covering her nose and mouth.

She pried it off, but the second she pulled it, a great amount of pain seared in her cheeks and jaw. She released the gadget.

Wires also connected her hands and feet through a wall towards nowhere.

Fenne tried to scream, but no voice nor vibration in her throat came out. Oh no, I'm in water! Mom! Where are you?!

She scanned her entire body, and noticed what looked like... stitches on her throat? Please let me out...

Looking in front of her, she saw an adult holding a phone to his ears. Despite the water around her, she could still listen to what the adult is saying.

"Yes... Project Silence is completely taken care of. I had her vocal chords removed, which means that she couldn't speak or make any noise. I enveloped her in water, a preparation to get her water manipulation. Aside from that, I also plan on getting her glass manipulation... Oh yes, Sir Stevenson. You're gonna like her when she's finished. Okay sir. I'll go work on her."

Fenne, despite the liquid, glared at him. What did you do to me?! Get me out!

She watched the man approach her. The man, from Fenne's view, seemed to type something from a keypad.

Then Fenne felt shockwaves hit her fingers and toes. Her limbs shivered. Pain seared. Fenne's consciousness fought the enveloping darkness that threatened to put a dot in her life.

Mommy... please save me...

* * * * *

Fenne opened her eyes, a strange feeling that came to her. She was still in the same room filled with water. However, the gadget that stuck in her jaw disappeared. The wires disconnected.

Escape...

With a force, Fenne moved the glass wall that separated her from the rest of the wall, and all the water gushed away from the room.

She ignored the shattering of glass. Dashing through the hallway with the water, she heard a siren blare. Red lights danced, as well as a computerized female voice said, "Intruder Alert!"

You are the one who intruded me in the first place, birch!

Fenne stopped when she saw a man in a lab coat stare at her.

She opened her mouth, but no words came out. She could only feel air come out of her mouth. But no words from her vocal chords whatsoever.

Dang it! I can't speak!

She reached out her hands and water rushed behind her. The water gushed over the man. Then the man got knocked on the floor.

Fenne passed through the man and through a glass hallway. She stopped and stared at the glass walls.

It was not just glass. From it, she could see her reflection. Fenne gasped.

Instead of an eight-year-old, a figure with thick brown hair with lots of white streaks, always left loose that goes down to the back of her chest, and light blue eyes. It also has quite pale skin, and wears a light blue cloak with a hood, white leggings, a dark green dress that goes just past the knees, along with dark brown combat boots that reach up to the shins with no wedges or high heels. The figure also has long eyelashes, innocent looking eyes, and thin eyebrows.

Oh my Notch... how did I get old that fast?

How long it has been since I got taken away? Two years?

Fenne sprinted away from the mirror hallway and saw a staircase that led up.

Climbing the staircase, Fenne witnessed strong light she had not seen for who-knows how long.

She scrunched her eyes. After a while, she scanned her surroundings. Bit by bit, the surroundings welcomed her as her eyes got used to the strong light. She walked forward, and the gradual descent of the terrain reminded her of a hill.

Birch trees dotted the grassland. "Birch forest hills..." she said mentally.

She ran away from where she was, and stopped. From her position, she saw the outline of structures and canals on the feet of the gradually descending hill.

Dennerheim!

Fenne dashed through the forest and descending hill. Branches, leaves, roots, grasses passed her by, but even that did not stop her pace.

I'm going home!

* * * * *

Her eyesight met Dennerheim's walls that shielded the city from foreign harm. The gates, which was shaped like a bunch of baroque arches, gave Fenne a slight curl on her lips.

(Imagine the arch like the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin(?), Germany)

Fenne dashed towards the gate, and met guards in typical blue uniforms.

Approaching the gates, she eyed the guards, which looked back at her.

"Halt!"

Fenne stopped. What now?!

"All Projects have been denied entry to the city's properties. I'm sorry, but you are denied access to Dennerheim. That is according to the Dennerheim's Mayor's Office."

What?! But I just got here!

"I'm afraid you will have to turn back and--"

Fenne slammed the guard on the wall. Security personnel around her pointed their weapons at her. Guns and swords alike.

"Ma'am. Please put him down," another guard said.

Her eyes darted around between the pinned guard, the weapons around her, and the city itself, as well as the crowd that stared at her.

Groaning, she let go.

"Now turn around. And leave."

Get to Dennerheim, idiot!

Fenne dashed towards the city.

"Hey! Stop!"

She raced past the crowd of people in the city, muttering 'excuse me's, and 'sorry's mentally. She heard the whistling of the whistles of guards, which meant that they were close.

Her eyesight pointed forward, not even bothering catching her breath. She turned right and ran along the stone brick road beside a canal. Dutch buildings ran along with her speed as she sprinted.

She turned right and slid past a narrow alley between two buildings. A square loomed beyond the alley, crowded with note people.

Fenne realized that Dennerheim has 3,214,891 people, which was not so surprising. But she gasped mentally, wondering how on Minecraft did she know that.

Fenne ran towards another crowd as if it was a maze.

Somewhere in her mind, something told her that the place was vaguely familiar.

* * * * *

She hopped over a fence that lined the peaceful Soul Street.

Unlike the rest of the city, the street itself was secluded away from the city center. From her right, trees with withering leaves lined the street. And from the left, a fence, which she just hopped over, bordered the street and a cemetery.

The crisp air entered her nostrils, and graves dotted the lands. Dried leaves also scattered the ground, which felt like nobody visited the cemetery for a while.

At least I got away from the guards... for now.

She strolled around, watching and reading the graves. None of the names seemed familiar for her... After all, it is not like dead people will come out of the ground and eat plants... right?

Her eyes darted around more, until it landed on another grave.

"Maya Starflame

987 - 1018

A beloved mother and wife."

Then, everything around her shrunk. Fenne read the tombstone once more.

...what?! H-how? How did she die...? How long did I remain in the state of unconsciousness...?

She looked up, still wondering what happened...

* * * * *

Fenne brought her hood down in the middle of a crowd. From the western horizon, the sun levelled just above the roofs of Dutch houses. Fenne looked around for guards and policemen. Seeing none, she examined the crowd around her.

At least there are no undercover cops...

Fenne brought her hood deeper and walked along with the crowd.

Then police patrols entered her sight from her left. She looked away and strolled along with the crowd.

At the back of her mind, she wondered why it felt like she was in Downtown Heijokyo along with Heijokyo's population of 28,541,903...

She separated away from the crowd and ran on the sidewalk, still looking alert. Traffic raged on the road. Ignoring the noise and air pollution, she hid herself further into the hood and moved along the road, in which her mind tells her it was familiar.

Fenne stopped near the facade of a building. She examined the house, but her mind told her it looked familiar.

A sign greeted her above the door. Reading it, she gasped at what it was.

"Starflame Residence"

Fenne felt like her jaw hung from her face. All of these Dennerheim houses look the same... But I cannot believe I found my OWN house!

She reached for the doorbell, and from its ringing, a man called out. "Coming!"

Then an old-looking man appeared in the door. Fenne screamed mentally, but at the back of her mind raised doubts that her own dad would not recognize her. Fenne took off her hoodie and revealed herself.

"What do you want?" he asked. My dad does not recognize me...

And crap! I cannot talk!

Fenne made a series of hand gestures, trying to portray her message. Dad... It's me!

Her dad sighed. "Falcon! Did you invite someone into this house, again?!"

A woman in her teens appeared. "What? No, I did not invite someone to this--"

She stopped when she looked at Fenne. "...wait... Fenne, is that you?"

Fenne looked up to her. Yes! It's me, big sis!

She nodded.

"I do not believe it! Fenne's freaking dead, Falcon! Do not make yourself believe in such lies!"

"But Dad! The police actually found no evidence of Fenne being dead! You are just being paranoid!"

"Remember, Falcon. Since your younger sister went missing, everything has been in wrecks! She broke everything apart in this family, Falcon! It is better for us to assume she is dead!"

"You are just making it worse!"

"Your mother committed suicide because of Fenne!"

Fenne flinched. My mother... committed... suicide?

"But do not blame everything on her! No one wanted this--"

"And do not make everything worse!"

Fenne took everything in. Her dad being paranoid. Her older sister being rebellious. Her mother committing suicide...

"Just... Get that impostor out!"

"But Dad--"

"GET OUT!"

He then threw a knife against Fenne, who ran away.

The knife landed on the road as it got ran over by a car.

"Fenne...!" her sister called out.

Fenne stopped and looked at Falcon. Thank you for everything...

She placed back her hoodie and looked away, her heart felt heavy.

* * * * *

Fenne stood on top of the fence. The fence bordered the street and the canal. She faced the canal.

Another teardrop rolled down her cheeks. She wiped it away, but the stains left by tears on her face stayed in.

Looking down, she took a breath.

My father suffered paranoia because of me. My sister went rebellious because of me. My mother died because of me. The Starflame family went to ruins because of me...

It's all because of me...!

A teardrop or two rolled down again to her already wet face.

It is better if I just stayed away... for the sake of my family...

Fenne looked down on the canal. Maybe I should just end my life altogether...

"Stop!"

She turned around and saw a couple of policemen.

"You are coming with me for migrating into city properties without legal permission from the City Government!"

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. Nope! Screw you, birches!

Then she heard other Minecraftians scream as something cold and liquid enveloped her.

* * * * *

Fenne opened her eyes. Am I in the Aether...?

Her eyes darted around. Light yellow walls, white ceiling, and plant decorations met her eyes. I am not in the Aether.

Then the door opened. From the door, Fenne watched an old man with pure white clothes enter the room. What is your identity?

"I see you finally woke up, young one," the man said.

Awkward silence developed in the room as he sat next to her. What happened?

"I found you floating on a river. You were pale white... I thought you were dead. But I grabbed you out of the river and checked your pulse. You still had one... luckily."

Fenne stared at him.

"I got you out of the river and splashed you with the last splash potion of healing that I had. I put you to this bed right here, so you can rest. Took all night just to wait for you to wake up."

She nodded. Well... Thanks for that, I suppose.

"I've been wondering... What actually happened?"

Sighing mentally, Fenne raised her hands. I hope you understand sign language...

She begun a series of gestures, each changing as she portrayed every word. From being kidnapped, to escaping, to trespassing to Dennerheim, to meeting her family in ruins, until she stopped when she jumped.

"Good thing you didn't end up in the ocean..."

Fenne nodded.

"Looks like you have been given a second chance in life..."

She looked at him. I beg your pardon?

"You have been given a second chance in life. I sense that you... and everyone else in this world, were born with a reason."

I see where you are going for...

"You have a reason to live... you just don't see it yet."

Fenne nodded, then heard a knock.

"Wait... Hold on, I got visitors."

The man stood up and walked to the door. "I wonder what they want this time..." Fenne heard him mutter.

It took an awkward silence before Fenne heard yelling, even though it was muffled. Then, gunshots. Crap. They just shot that man!

Fenne looked around the room. Her eyes met the window as she heard footsteps that seemed to go closer...

Standing up, she approached the window. She placed her hands on the handle, but she did not saw a single motion. From outside, she heard thumping.

She raised her elbows up and collided with the window. She watched the pieces fall, leaving behind an open window.

The thumping went louder and louder. Her heart pounded out of her ribs. The thought of getting the man she just met shot made her shiver.

Ah, screw it!

Without warning, she hopped out of the window as she heard the door open.

* * * * *

Fenne dashed through the maze of branches, leaves, and bushes. She did not even pause to catch her breath, for every second she stops, the authorities gets closer to her.

And she did not want that to happen.

"Stop in the name of the law!"

She turned right and squeezed through birch tree branches. Law my butt!

The police screamed 'stop' once again, but Fenne still squeezed through the birch forest. Inside her, she could feel her eyes droop down, sweat roll down, and her desperate attempts to keep her breathing stable.

She looked down at her hand and saw an Ender pearl cradled on it. Gasping, she tossed it away to a place unfamiliar.

"Stop!"

Men in police uniforms stopped in front of her eyesight, panting.

"You are coming with us!"

Fenne looked behind, then back at the policemen. See you in the Nether, hoes!

She smirked at the police, then felt herself land on the ground in another place that looked the same. I escaped again! It had been that way for three months.

Scanning the area, her eyes landed on a poster that was glued to a tree.

Crap tons of anti-Project propaganda! Can these guys take a freaking break!

Fenne tore down the poster and stomped on it. Many times.

She then heard her stomach growl. Patting her stomach, she realized that she did not eat in days.

Thunder boomed, and rain made its clutch to the ground, as if Mother Nature told her that it gets worse.

Fenne placed her hoodie back on. She made desperate attempts to shield herself from the weather, but all the rainwater felt like ice from the northernmost area in North Minecraftia.

Fenne looked around and saw a dead body. From the clothes, it looked like the body was once a hunter.

Braving the sheer cold, Fenne snuck near the body. She examined the body. A bow and an empty quiver hung from the back. Within just one glance, Fenne knew that the bow will not last long. But she grabbed the bow anyway... just in case.

An arrow also got stuck from the back. Fenne pulled it away as she looked away from the hideous sight. I wonder if this man has some food...

One way to find out.

Fenne sighed mentally, and placed her hands on the man's pockets. She felt something... thin, and something hard.

She pulled her hand away and looked at what she scavenged. Five emeralds, and a poster that says "Wanted: Project Silence. Dead or alive. Wanted by the Dennerheim Police Department."

She tore the poster to pieces. I am being purged down by the police...!

That explains why I was being hunted down by the police... But why other than trespassing would they hunt me down?

She stopped. Surely, this guy must have been a bounty hunter, trying to hunt me down but got killed himself.

Fenne looked forward her and saw a sheep in the middle of the rain. Food...

Standing up, she grabbed the bow and aimed at it. The sheer cold made her shiver as she notched the arrow. Her shaky hands did not help either.

She groaned as she grabbed the string and pulled it. Her attempt ended in herself pulling a few centimeters. Pulling a bow is harder than I thought it would be...

Dropping the bow, she grabbed the arrow and approached the sheep. She landed her hand on the sheep's body and the arrow pointed at it on her other hand.

Without hesitation, she planted the arrow deep into the sheep's body.

The sheep dropped pieces of mutton and Fenne ate it... raw. It was not the best feeling in the world, but that would definitely help... for her, at least.

When she finished, she looked around again. Zombie groans, bones clattering, and Spiders hissing told her it is dangerous.

She picked her weight up and stormed off into a place of unfamiliarity.

* * * * *

Fenne leapt into a bush and wandered her eyes around. Whew! I lost the police again!

She checked her inventory. Three melons, four carrots and four potatoes, and two pieces of steak along with 42 emeralds. Nice! I only have to rob a store, get chased by the law enforcement, get lost, and escape. Same routine for three months now.

Standing up, she examined her environment. Abandoned buildings, boarded-up windows... An unpleasant welcome, but this will have to do for now.

Fenne strolled on the ghost town. Bullet shells, craters, and rubble remained. Apparently, the government destroyed this town for housing lots of Projects like me...

The wind sent her a breeze. Withered leaves and newspapers flew along. One page landed on Fenne's face.

She took that off, and read the headlines.

"Projects oust President Herobrine! Minecraftians baffled"

Fenne read that once again, swearing that if she could speak, she would have read it out loud. Oh true... The President was about to get overthrown anyway.

She took a step forward, but stopped. Wait... Herobrine?! That powerful being in the legends?

The thought of Herobrine reminded her of the legends. East Minecraftian legends, Shemnian legends, and even Jeb's legends say something about Herobrine.

Fenne grabbed the paper and threw it off. Herobrine? I urgently need to learn about him...

(In case you haven't noticed, that was around the time M:AF finished)

* * * * *

Fenne stared at a scenery. Below a stone cliff she stood on, the ocean pounded on its feet in high tides. The glowing ball (or cube), known as the sun, set in the western horizon.

"Hey!" a voice screamed, followed by gunshots.

Fenne ducked on instinct. Sneaking behind a tree, she peeked.

Five people raising submachine guns fired in front of them, which was out of her sight. A red banner with yellow stripes across the flag sailed behind them.

Red banners... These people are part of the anti-Project movement, were they?

Fenne remembered. Ever since Herobrine's downfall, a civil war raged within the whole nation. Minecraftians was divided by Loyalists, also known as the anti-Projects; the Liberators, the people who are loyal to the new government; and the terrorists. But within the past two years, tensions seemed to have calmed down.

Until now, at least.

Fenne shrunk back to the tree. A bullet whizzed past her. Crap, they noticed me.

She looked back to the ocean. I could manipulate the waters!

Fenne's hand reached towards the ocean. Droplets of water approached her, but it grew into a stream, and into a tide.

The tide approached the group. Fenne watched it wash over the group. Audible screams escaped the waves, but the people got knocked over by the waves.

Fenne dashed towards the people as the waves dissipated. She grabbed one of the guns and kicked away the rest. Fenne glared at them while pointing the gun at the group.

The group stood up, gasping, then ran off.

Fenne looked at where the group fired at earlier. From there, she saw a woman with long, dark blue hair that covered her right eye. Atop her head was a black cap lined with blue edges. A gray hoodie with long sleeves that covered an ice blue shirt. She also wore black leggings and white sneakers. A sheath for her katana hanged from her waist.

"You... saved me," she said. Fenne just nodded.

"Um... are you mute...?"

Another nod.

"May I ask what's your name?"

Fenne placed her hands on her pocket and revealed a card.

"Fennegrin... Starflame?" she asked as she read. Fenne gave another nod in response.

"Well then, Fennegrin. My name's Persephone."

øó0Ó°'''°Ò0òø

Jeez that was longer than An "Ordinary" Christmas.

This is my birthday present for Naomi!

Happy birthday, CanadaNaomi I hope you're enjoying your day and I wish you the best of wishes! ;)

Although I might have published this at May 1 her time but like sHHHhhHhhHHH

But if you guys read this like, waaay into the future after this was published, this was published on May 2, the day of her birth.

Since it's her birthday (or at least published on her birthday), let's give some fun facts about her character, Fennegrin Starflame.

1. Fenne's original back story was Fenne being kidnapped and experimented on, gave her a "curse", which is her not able to make noise, escapes then return to her family, only to get disowned, and joins the Team.

I stuck away with the original and added things up. In fact, I think I made it three times worse than the original lmao

2. Fennerone was actually a planned ship between Fenne and Tyrone. But I looked at Fenne's age. 14.

I was like "Oh no, what have I done." So I scrapped it off. (Yes, no more Fennerone)

3. Naomi explained her character's silence as a "curse". But I decided to leave the curse because this is sci-fi. The curse has to be logical.

The most logical I could get was removing Fenne's vocal chords so she doesn't have a voice. Literally.

4. I named Fenne's sister as Falcon because I actually named her entire family after birds because I noticed Fennegrin is nearly the same as the peregrine, a species of the bird family.

5. I actually started this short story after Easter, but because of a lot of procrastination, I barely finished in time.

6. Naomi also said that Fenne handles almost all weapons that well. But there is a scene where she can't pull the bow string.

That's actually logical. Not everyone can shoot a bow or handle a weapon perfectly in their first try. It takes time.

Same reason goes with why Fenne did not stop the rain when she had water manipulation. Again, not everyone can control water in their first try if they want it to be large-scale.

7. I had to do timeskips a lot because I don't to write about Fenne's routine and not much interesting happens, so...

8. It's really weird for me to write Fenne cause of obvious reasons. I mean, I could handle a chapter writing about Fenne, but an entire back story is a different story. No offense

9. I didn't mention the creation of the mockingbird cause I don't think that's relevant to the story since this is already long enough.

I think that's pretty much it.

On an unrelated note, if you guys are asking if I handled the world building, I'm doing fine at least. I knew how crap works in this fictional world. So yeah.

Also 4554 words 😱

Happy birthday yet again to CanadaNaomi

If you have liked this short story, please be sure to punch that vote button! It would be appreciated! Also don't forget to comment and follow! Or share it to your friends. Whatever.

See ya later!

Peace! ✌

~Glitch